


In The Silence

by TheRedGlass



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Cozy, F/M, Feels, Ficlet, I promise, Oneshot, Prompt Fill, Silent Night, Tumblr Prompt, but it ends more
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 11:45:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7572919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRedGlass/pseuds/TheRedGlass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission ends with too many casualties. Natasha is lost inside her head and Clint tries to bring her back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Silence

**Author's Note:**

> I asked my followers to send me a ship and a Christmas song and I'd write a short fic for them. This one was Clintasha + Silent Night.

When everything’s finally over, they find themselves standing on a snowy ridge overlooking what’s left of the village. They’re short of breath and ragged, blood drying on their uniforms as they simply stand there and try to process, the frozen air tapping insistently at their faces.

Rogue alien tech plus a power hungry individual was never a winning equation.

Natasha tries to hold back a weary sigh but Clint hears it anyway. He doesn’t say anything, just moves closer to her, letting their shoulders touch. He can feel her shiver a little, and he knows it’s not from the cold.

“We did everything we could,” he says quietly.

“I know,” she says, barely audible.

“If we hadn’t been here, there wouldn’t be anything left at all.”

“I know.”

He lets the silence stay for a few minutes, and then he slowly slips an arm around her waist, giving her time to pull away if she doesn’t want it. But she moves into the gesture, and drops her head on his shoulder.

In a broken whisper, she finally says, “It never gets any easier to watch.”

“I know.”

She shifts her head on his shoulder and he gently adjusts his grip on her waist, reminding her that he’s here and he’s staying and that she did all the right things and sometimes things still went wrong and it wasn’t her fault.

They stand there in the dark and the snow for what could have been minutes or hours. Clint can feel the skin of his face and hands going numb, but he refuses to leave Natasha just now, even when he knows she can stand much colder for much longer than he can. He can’t even think of anything to say to help.

And then, at the far end of the village, he sees a little ball of light start to bob through the air and he squints, trying to bring it into focus. It’s a candle, he realizes, a candle carried by a woman in a long grey coat. And as he watches, she’s joined by another woman with a small child. And then an old man. And a family of four. And the group continues to grow, and they all have candles, and as he watches, they assemble some kind of display or shrine and suddenly there is light blazing through the night and even at a distance, a soft noise rolls to them over the snow.

Singing.

For a long moment, Natasha still seems numb to the world, but as the music reaches them, she suddenly picks her head up, watching and listening.

Clint slides his hand into hers, and, recognizing the tune, he starts to sing softly. “Silent night, holy night…” He isn’t particularly spiritual, but there’s still a comfort and gentleness about the song that he enjoys and it seems appropriate given the circumstances.

Natasha stays quiet, and he expects her to call him out on his less than stellar singing voice.

Instead, after long moments, she joins in.

“All is calm,” she sings in her quiet, beautiful husky tone. “All is bright…”

He squeezes her hand and she squeezes it back and they stand there and hold onto hope.


End file.
